Hello Bruce,
Thanks for your comment!
It is frustrating for us, too ;-). But be sure we are working on improving Capture! Actually, DJI SDK3 was released in January this year, and we are working on it, both for iOS and Android.
It’s not the first time that Capture App users are puzzled by the “WiFi Extender” message, which only applies for certain aircraft types.
>>> Please provide a specific mesages about missing WiFi or missing USB (cable) connection. Since Capture allows to define the aircraft type explicitly, it shouldn’t be too hard to choose either the one or the other message.
That would avoid misunderstandings, it would have saved me hours of try and error.
Applies for both, Android as well as iOS app.
Thanks for your reply. Further to my post yesterday I had a fly away whilst trying to get your Capture app to work, lost my Phantom 3 Advanced. I attempted to map a smallish area and on the first pass the drone semed to be doing as it should, then just stopped and hovered. I restarted the mission, the drone started the route again but then veered away from the designated flight path and just took off at speed. My fault for trusting some 3rd party Beta software, never had the slightest issue in over 30 hours flying with the DJI Go app, more fool me for acting as your unpaid guinea pig. Weirdly, I was almost as disappointed that I couldn’t go home and play with your software using the data from the missions as I was to have lost the drone 
Hi Bruce
Such a fly away would of course upset me too, unlucky you.
Speaking for my Inspire 1, as well my Wookong-M controlled aircrafts, I always rely upon my mode switch. During the entire autonomous flight I always keep my finger at my RC, ready to switch off AUTO mode. Like that it should be possible to avoid such a fly away, I assume, unless it’s a controller / GPS error. Right?
Does the Phantom 3 Advanced also feature such a mode switch or not?
Hi Reto, yes it does, I did switch from ‘F’ to ‘P’ which are the equivalent modes on the P3. Didn’t have any effect. I’ve no idea what caused the fly away and I don’t rule out pilot error. Pix4D do warn that unless you turn on the RC before the drone then you will not be able to manually intervene in the event of a fly away. The Capture app was showing it was disconnected from the drone and in my frustration at the time I think I rebooted the drone and then the RC (!). Doesn’t explain what caused the fly away (never the slightest hint or suggestion of such with the DJI Go app previously) but I suppose I have to take it on the chin for not being able to take back manual control. Never having had a fly away I may have been a bit complacent about the likelihood of one. You live and learn!
Hello Bruce!
I am very sorry for your P3A, and I completely understand your frustration. Let me just clarify a few points.
- Only the P2 had the “RC was not started” issue. All the new DJI drones, including your P3A, make the connection through the RC. So I can ensure you that you did not forget to start the RC, otherwise Capture could not have contacted the drone at all.
- Whatever (and I really mean it) happens in Capture should not prevent you from going back to manual control. The RC is responsible for that, nothing else. DJI Go or Capture or whatever App should not be able to go against the RC, which is a very good safety measure.
- At least with the default settings, if the drone loses the connection to the RC, it will go home and land (I experimented it). If you don’t know about that, you probably haven’t modified those settings.
What that means is that you don’t have to trust the 3rd party software at all. And for this reason, I would never blame a third party software, be it in alpha, beta, or whatever experimental mode I could imagine. Capture has many issues that make it more or less frustrating depending on your needs and phone, I completely agree on that, and we are working on it. But Capture cannot technically bypass the manual control and lose the drone.
If your drone flies away and you cannot get manual control, if it stops the propellers and crashes, or if it flips and crashes, then it is the responsibility of the drone. If the drone crashes against an obstacle, then it is the responsibility of the pilot. If you lost 20 minutes of your time flying a mission that does not work with Pix4Dmapper, then it is the responsibility of Capture.
Again, I am very sorry for your P3A, but you should not blame Capture (or any App using the SDK) for that.
Best Regards,
Hi Jonas,
thanks for your exaplanation. I feel happier that it wasn’t your app that caused my loss! I always calibrate the compass and update my home point wherever I fly even if it’s the same spot as the last flight, so I really have no idea what happened.
Anyway, worse things happen at sea and I’ll chalk this one down to experience. I hope you get the app sorted and this hasn’t put me off using it when it is!
Bruce.